  Members of the Edmonton Eskimos get comfortable in their renovated locker room.(AMBER BRACKEN/Edmonton Sun) |
The players gathered outside the entrance of the dressing room where 13 Grey Cups surrounded a brass ‘EE’ logo under the words “Through these doors pass the proudest players in the Canadian Football League ... Edmonton Eskimos.”
Throughout all of training camp none of the players had been allowed a sneak peek. But now they stood in front of the entrance when President and CEO Rick LeLacheur instructed the ribbon to be cut after three words: “Defend this room.”
I don’t know if it’s possible for a dressing room to win a football game, but if it is, the Eskimos will win this one against the British Columbia Lions who came in here and won twice last year. (For the record the retired room had a pretty good record. It ended up at 201-75-2 over 32 regular seasons.)
When the ribbon was cut, an entire herd of overgrown, bull-in-a-china-shop sort of guys looked like kids in a line-up on their first trip to see Santa Claus.
As they entered it turned into Easter as they searched the state-of-the-art room to hunt down where 40-year veteran equipment manager Dwayne Mandrusiak had their game uniforms hanging in their individually inscribed locations.
While you could hear the ooohs, it was mostly the awe.
“The thing about walking in ... a thing came over me,” said head coach Richie Hall.
“To me it was a very emotional unbelievable feeling. I’ve only been an Edmonton Eskimo a very short time and that was such an emotional experience. I can’t imagine what it was for guys who have been here for a number of years.”
After only a few minutes, just enough time to dig around in their stalls, check out the individual fans, internet ports, cellphone recharge hook-ups, etc. and find a few welcoming gifts of the running shoe and sweatshirt variety, Hall had a few words to say to the team from the middle of the room.
“This was done for the players.
“You should take it very personal. You should feel very thankful and very blessed.”
And then he took them out to practice.
When they returned, they went and explored the areas behind the main dressing room, Mandrusiak’s push-button, sliding partition, equipment room, the training rooms, whirlpool and sauna areas, player lounge, and then drifted back to their stalls in the oval room where offence and defence are now one.
Players who had spent time in the NFL, to a man said this one beat the dressing room wherever they’d been including Kenny Pettway, who had been with the Green Bay Packers where the dressing room is as special as they come and was very much the model for this one.
“It’s almost identical. It matches it to a T. And it’s not even finished yet,” he said of so many finishing touch things to be added, especially in back of the main room not even to mention the two entire floors above the room where meeting rooms, coaches offices, executive offices and hospitality deck are still under construction.
Dario Romero, another player who spent time in the NFL declared it better than anything he’d seen.
“Oh, yeah. It’s amazing. Awesome. I had a picture in my head. But this is way beyond what I expected.”
Quarterback Ricky Ray had been part of a hard-hat tour of the entire new facility including field house a couple weeks prior to training camp.
“I thought I could sort of imagine it. But I really underestimated how great it would be. Man, it’s awesome,” said Ray.
“It’s phenomenal,” said Jason Maas, who was an Eskimo before Ray showed up.
“With all the tradition around here, to be part of the first team in here is something I consider to be very special.”
Can a dressing room win games?
“I’ll tell you one thing right now. I’d be highly upset if another team got to move into this dressing room for the Grey Cup,” said Maurice Lloyd. “Look at all the smiles on these faces. I see a lot of guys who are going to be pretty damn motivated to add a 14th Grey Cup to that wall.”
terry.jones@sunmedia.ca
